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Author
Topic: septrin...isnt good for your social life (Read 3285 times)

as you've guessed by the title, i've developed an allergy to septrin, terriblly tacky sun burnt effect as if i spent the last few hours in a sunbed >_<! and its so much more noticeable at christmas time too !

i'd been taking septrin for about 2 weeks so far (once a day), and since saturday, i had a bad flu (headache, shivering, diarehea, faitgue, nausea, the works) and then yesterday developped the sun burnt look. my hands and forearms looks splotchy, my chest looks pinky, my face looks...cheap. i stopped taking my daily dose of septrin (48hrs ago) and the flu like symptons have eased, except for the redness, gonna call my hiv doc tomorow (i had emailed them last night actually but got an automated happy christmas message )

how long does this redness take to go away? will it clear naturally or will the doctor have to put me on more drugs? Hope i get a reply before tomorow so i can print it off, otherwise i fear the doc will just say "take it like a man" and send me on my way >_<!

You should have probably contacted your doctor first, before stopping the Septrin. He could have wrote you another prescription, to take its place. Might want to remember that, in the future when on anti-biotics.

Desensitisation Because Septrin is the best form of PCP prophylaxis, doctors will often try to overcome allergic reactions you experience. They may suggest trying again a few weeks later, as it is not always clear whether an allergy is due to Septrin or to other drugs. Alternatively you may be able to overcome the allergy by starting again at a very small dose and gradually increasing it to the normal level. This is called desensitisation. Many people who have an initial reaction to Septrin can be desensitised in this way. However, you should not try this yourself, but only under the supervision of a doctor. If your allergic reaction is severe, it is unwise to take the drug again except under very close supervision in hospital.

Alternatives If you are unable to tolerate Septrin, there are several alternatives that provide some protection against PCP, including aerosolised pentamidine, dapsone plus trimethoprim and atovaquone

I had the same thing and was hospitalized for two days. The sun burn look will fade after a week. For me it was a full body peel too including face. The doctor had me on prednosone (steroid) to help me get over the worst part. It was a diminishing dose and was easy to follow.

I am on Dapsone now with no problems. Trust me, if there are alternatives to Bactrim use them. It's been the worst experience so far on the drugs.

Had the same issue, but the rash was not as severe as yours. I stopped with the Bactrim after about 10 days.

My doctor recommended atovaquone because some people who cannot tolerate Bactrim cannot tolerate Dapsone either. Atovaquone - also called Mepron, is a bright yellow liquid that you take with food. It is very costly, and even here in NYC, it is not easy to find. The pharmacy (a 24 hour CVS) had to order it for the first few months that I needed it.

Best of luck with your counts improving - hopefully, you will not need anything to prevent PCP in the future when things get better.

I started Septra (aka Bactrim) in 1994 and broke out with the same symptoms as hussy_24.

I went off the Septra for a while and then started the desensitization procress mentioned by Ray (J.R.E.). It was a ten-day process, starting with an extremely low dose, and progressing to the full dose. I started getting the reaction again around day 7 of the process, so I stopped it. After the symptoms cleared up, I tried the process again, and this time it worked. I've been taking Septra for 12 years now with no problem.

The desensitization process uses liquid Septra, and the graduated concentrations were prepared by my pharmacist.

I was on septrin for a while 12 x 960mg per day for PCP, caused me to have kidney failure, so i was switched onto prednose and clindamycin and pentamidine. They have put me back on the septrin but at a much lower dose and its working.